The Ecobox, Maria Tena Justice
The Ecobox in context
The Ecobox 2008
The EcoBox
Maria Tena Justice explains the architecture and landscape-led creativity captured in the home of the Fundación Metrópoli
Imagine a building where innovation, creativity and sustainability are inter-related, where developers and architects work alongside researchers and graphic designers, and where art in all its forms is combined with functionality and a strong commitment for the environment. In Madrid, Spain, these characteristics have come together in the form of the Ecobox.
As the headquarters of Fundación Metrópoli (FM), one of the most important not-for-profit international foundations on urban development, the Ecobox was designed and built to physically represent the principles of the work of Fundación, namely the encouragement of innovation and development in cities and regions. From the sun scoops which crown the building on the outside, to the colourful mobile walls designed by architect and artist Fernando Pagola on the inside, the Ecobox represents a new generation of intelligent buildings, where architectural and bioclimatic concepts come together to champion sustainability.
The Ecobox was designed by architect Angel de Diego of the Fundación Metrópoli, and it is located in the midst of a business park in north east Madrid. Its box-like shape, crushed-stone retaining walls and gravel landscape - all local materials - enable the Ecobox to stand out in a unique and unassuming way amongst its taller neighbours, occupied by banks and consulting firms.
The main entrance to the Ecobox is situated on its south side which allows solar gain to be optimised during times of cold weather. This orientation also allows the Ecobox to remain cool in the summer avoiding the need for air-conditioning. Photovoltaic panels integrated into the building’s form, thermal storage walls in the façade, radiant floors, and cold ceilings each enable the Ecobox to operate with sustainable solar energy, saving a total of 70 per cent of its energy consumption. The importance of these innovative environmental elements lies in the fact that they are ethically stimulating for the architects, researchers, planners and other staff at the Ecobox. In the words of Diego Delfín, a Mexican architect currently working for the Fundación on a two-year grant, ‘architects here at the Ecobox want to cooperate on a new generation of sustainable projects throughout the world because we experience the latter in our own backyard’.
The Ecobox sits on three floors and has a series of multifunctional spaces which can change in size, shape and use due to the various sliding doors and walls in the building. Staff meeting rooms have at times been transformed into spaces for social and cultural interaction, and the central atrium, where conferences and workshops take place, is used for art exhibitions, celebrations and meetings. Such flexibility encourages further innovation - the convergence of different ideas and disciplines. The potential to open areas up specifically to create workplaces for the research, planning and execution of urban development projects promotes interaction and the free flow of ideas, helping creativity, progress and innovation.
Art plays an important role in the Ecobox - the sculptures by Carles Valverde and Raquel Montilla Higgins, along with Pagola’s mobile walls and the artwork brought in for temporary exhibitions are connections between the day-to-day work happening within the Ecobox, and an artistic representation of reality. The presence of artwork in the building acts as a reminder that the artist can encourage, feed and complement the city and the landscape.
The altruistic nature of the work carried out in the Ecobox by the Fundación Metrópoli has attracted international talent to become part of a daily exchange of knowledge and experience; this greatly enriches both the working environment and the resulting projects developed by the Fundación. Work at the Ecobox involves many different disciplines (architecture, urban development, environmental and regional planning, graphic design, research, editing and communications) but with the common objective of promoting innovation and sustainability.
At present, the Ecobox stands out as a building of its own kind within the conventional business complex where it is situated. However the quiet kind of bio-friendly revolution started with this small and geometric building has yet to inspire urban planning in the vicinity. There is confidence however that the Ecobox will remain an inspiration and continue to encourage innovation, creativity and sustainability, one project at a time.
Maria Tena Justice is a researcher at Fundación Metrópoli, Madrid
